-- a so far unopposed lawless/crime boss/militarist/pro-war/anti-populist
president; and

-- a rogue's gallery of Republican aspirants, looking
more like a police lineup than legitimate candidates for any office, let
alone the nation's highest - with one exception, Ron Paul, ignored by America's
media for the following reasons:

(1) He advocates abolishing the Federal Reserve, owned
and run by Wall Street. In fact, several times in Congress, he introduced
the Federal Reserve Abolition Act. With no co-sponsors, no further action
followed.

(2) He also wants squandering America's resources on
imperial wars ended, using the nation's wealth instead for productive economic
growth.

(3) In addition, he opposes police state laws like the
USA Patriot Act, though not for all the right reasons. Key for him is loss
of personal privacy.

(4) While advocating free trade, he's against NAFTA,
DR-CAFTA, and other one-sided FTAs, serving special interests, not everyone
equitably.

(5) He calls the war on drugs "costly and ineffective,
while creating terrible violent crime." True enough, but it's much
worse, largely responsible for creating the world's largest gulag, mostly
filled with nonviolent inmates, deserving reprimands and perhaps fines
at most, not prison time.

At the same time, as a libertarian, he believes government's
only role is to respect, protect, and defend personal freedoms.

As the Libertarian Party's Preamble advocates, everyone
should retain "sovereign(ty) over their own lives," not "sacrifice
(it) for the benefit of others."

In other words, government's responsibility for universal
healthcare, education, and other essential services is incompatible with
personal freedom. Everyone should be on their own to provide them, even
though millions, through no fault of their own, can't.

In contrast, progressives define freedom and responsibility
differently, believing government must assure equity, social justice, and
safety net protections for society's least advantaged. Throwing them overboard
can't be tolerated.

Rick Perry - George Bush on Steroids?

Who can know, but be concerned. Texas-based commentator
Molly Ivans (1944 - 2007) called him "despicable" and much more.
Ridiculing him as "Gov. Goodhair," she compared him to George
Bush, saying, "O Please, Dear God, Not Another One," quoting
a country song.

She railed against his appointing an Enron executive
head of Texas' Public Utilities Commission. In return "the next day"
came a $25,000 thank you check, signed by former Chairman/CEO Ken Lay,
infamous for being behind one of the nation's greatest ever financial scandals.

She denounced his "spectacular failure on public
schools by convincing Texans that gay marriage was a horrible threat to
us all." At the same time, he tried "to disguise" the decrepit
state of public schools "by proposing that we teach creationism in
biology classes," not math fundamentals, good English, literacy and
computer skills, and real history and political science, omitting any reference
to religion that has no place in public education.

She also hammered him in other articles, exposing an
extremist governor not fit for any public office, let alone the nation's
highest that should chill everyone at the possibility, except his lunatic
fringe supporters and big-monied backers, assured of substantial returns
on investments with him as president.

On August 13, he announced his candidacy in South Carolina,
not Texas, knowing angry mobs would confront him, saying:

America "is the last great hope of mankind....Socialist
systems (deliver) misery and stagnation....Americans (are) not defined
as class....'Spreading the wealth' punishes success....(B)ig-government
policies have prolonged our national misery....It is time to get America
working again."

Besides mischaracterizing his dismal pro-business, anti-populist
record as governor, his rhetoric concealed extremist positions he'll force
on all Americans the way he did to Texans, including Christian fascism.
More on that below.

Right Wing Watch.com lists some of his allies, including:

(1) The American Family Association, endorsing censorship
and advocacy against women's and LGBT rights.

(2) The International House of Prayer, wanting Jews to
become Christians and opposing abortion and LGBT rights among other extremist
positions.

(3) The Family Research Council's Tony Perkins, known
for calling gay rights activists "intolerant," "hateful,"
"vile," "spiteful," and "pawns" of Satan.

(4) The Response, another extremist religious group.

(5) Rev. John Hagee, a preacher and practitioner of Christian
fascism.

(6) James Dobson, a replica of Hagee, founder of Focus
on the Family and the Family Research Council, two prominent extremist
hate groups.

(11) Che Ahn, John Hagee's mentor who compared "the
fight against gay rights to the fight against slavery," and others
also endorsing the same ideological extremism.

With these type allies and financial backers, be concerned,
very concerned.

Perry for President

Perry's web site (richperry.org) calls him "a true
conservative," omitting how he defined that as governor, serving Big
Monied Texans at the expense of all others, what he'll replicate nationally
as president.

Besides his religious ideologue allies, he also stacked
his campaign team with neocon advisers and Tea Party extremists, likely
endorsing his belief that:

"We are now confronted with the rise of new economic
and military powerhouses in China and India, as well as a Russia that is
increasingly aggressive and troublesome to its neighbors and former satellite
nations that are struggling to maintain their relatively newfound independence."

As a result, he added: "(T)he United States must
be prepared for the ramifications of shifting balances of power,"
stopping just short of endorsing war.

A racist uber-hawk, he presided over 230 executions since
December 2000, more than any other modern governor. At the same time, he
refused to admit the possibility that anyone put to death was innocent,
despite over 130 exonerated inmates since 1973, including 12 in Texas,
besides known and unknown others unjustly facing execution.

His college academic record also raises concerns, an
August 5 Huffington Post article headlining, "Rick Perry's College
Transcript: A Lot of Cs and Ds," saying:

"A source in Texas (supplied) transcripts of his
years at Texas A&M University." It showed less than classroom
distinction. "While he later became a student leader, he had to get
out of academic probation to do so."

His D grades were in economics, Shakespeare, and veterinary
anatomy. He flunked organic chemistry. A classmate called A&M not "exactly
Harvard on the Brazos River," adding:

"This was not the brightest guy around. We always
kind of laughed. He was always kind of a joke."

His office "did not return a request for comment
from The Huffington Post." Perhaps potential supporters should demand
it, besides holding him accountable for his dismal record as governor.

An August 14 HuffPost article explained more, headlined:
"Rick Perry's Record in Texas May Not Convince Latino Voters,"
saying:

Texas is 38% Latino, including many undocumented ones
through no fault of their own. Perry opposes amnesty. He's "argued
for (using) National Guard, military-style special ops and (drones) with
high-tech cameras" to monitor border areas.

His administration "spent over $400 million since
2005 on border security programs." He supports "valid residency
documents from driver's license applicants," who aren't US citizens.
He opposes state "sanctuary cities," wants voters required to
show photo IDs at polls, and "local police (required to) comply with
federal immigration laws."

Civic and Hispanic leaders oppose these policies, arguing
they'll escalate intimidation and anti-Latino discrimination. San Antonio
Mayor Julian Castro called Perry's initiatives "easily the most anti-Latino
agenda in more than a generation, without shame."

Many agree with Texas Democratic Party spokeswoman Kirsten
Gray that Perry "needs a pink slip, not a promotion (because) he's
been a disaster as governor and would make an even worse president."

In other words, religion in any form, may not engage
in or interfere with affairs of state, and vice versa under the First Amendment,
guaranteeing the right to free exercise of religion.

With leaders like Rick Perry, expect the religion/state
firewall to be naplamed as a practitioner of Christian fascism. Broadly
defined, it embraces extremist political, economic, social and religious
ideology falsely called conservative.

Sociologist Sara Diamond wrote extensively on the rise
of America's right wing groups, including in her "Roads to Dominion,"
in which she traced various movements over the past 50 years, identifying
four types:

2. Racist right-wing groups, including the KKK, other
segregationist groups, and the paramilitary white supremacist movement.

3. The Christian Right with its evangelical roots, and

4. Neoconservatives with roots during the Cold War under
Republicans and Democrats.

Not entirely monolithic, these groups share common views
with regard to the economy, the nation state in the global context (military
and geopolitical), and moral norms relating to race and gender.

They also advocate free-market capitalism, anticommunism
(now anything left of center), US global military hegemony, traditional
morality, superiority of native-born white male Christian Americans, and
the traditional nuclear family.

Moreover, they cloak their ideology in Christianity and
patriotism to gain political power they claim God sanctions, giving moral
legitimacy, even to steal from the poor, give to the rich, and wage war.

As a result, these ideologues are morally and politically
indefensible, toxic and dangerous. They also embrace:

-- advocating Christian fascism based on predatory capitalism,
militarism, and intolerance of democratic freedoms; and

-- fanatically supporting Israel for all the wrong reasons,
though it's hard to find any right ones, given its out-of-control lawlessness
and danger as a global menace like America, especially if run by Christian
fascists like Perry.

If elected, he'll use his ideology as a crusade to wage
war on democratic values, social justice, rule of law principles, and peace
even more than they've already been desecrated.

As a result, America now is unfit to live in. Perhaps
under Perry, so will planet earth. What better reason to shun and denounce
him. But much more is needed to save the soul of a lost nation.

Begin by rejecting the corrupted two-party duopoly, run
by warmongering kleptocrats, damning the public interest for their own.
Vote independent or not at all.

Voting for any Republican or Democrat - for president,
Congress, state or local office - is wasting it, defiling your own welfare.
Unless duopoly power ends, Americans won't be free, safe or equitably treated.

Now's the time to start abolishing what's wrecking the
country and planet earth. The alternative is perishing with it - under
Perry, Obama or anyone representing either party.

They're beholden to a higher power, America's monied
interests so far having everything their own way. Survival depends on replacing
them before it's too late to matter.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at
lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and
listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive
Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central
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